Every September, hundreds of people gather on a tiny Scottish island mere minutes from another (larger) Scottish island, to watch hundreds of other people throw stones into the water. Or across the water, as is the aim of stone skimming – and where better for such an occasion than a slate quarry? Welcome to… the World Stone Skimming Championships!
To the surprise of no one, this quirky event has been on my list for years, always being beaten by something else that happens to come up on that very weekend. Well, this year we finally made it, and I am here to tell you it is EVEN MORE FUN than it sounds!
The championships have become so popular in recent years that the committee has had to open a ballot, and so the first thing we noticed was that there were quite a few people who had hoped to compete but were now just coming to watch instead. The second thing we noticed was that a lot of people had travelled from, literally, all over the world – lots of Americans (“south of Canada”, one of them corrected the announcer!), and an entire team from New Zealand. One American we spoke to had travelled to Scotland JUST for this! And the third thing we noticed was the group of guys wearing hilarious fish hats.
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Due to the popularity, it means there’s also a wait for the boats… a long wait. You see, each boat only carries ten people… when, as we were leaving afterwards, I asked the guy taking the fares at the booth on the island how many had come across, he looked at his counter. Nearly 1,200!! You do the maths.
Mercifully, the boat only takes three minutes to cross, and they had an extra boat on the go for the event.
Regardless, I recommend getting there EARLY! The stewards around the boat are actually really good, and were prioritising people who were actually competing, which makes total sense. But the parking is a whole other issue, and I’m fairly sure, arriving at 9.30am (the competition kicks off at 11am) we got one of the last spaces. We didn’t get onto the island until after 11am…
But no matter – there was much camaraderie in the queue, especially with people saying hello to Bonnie (and Bonnie saying to every single other dog!). There’s a coffee stall and a toilet so you can take turns leaving the queue if you need to.
When we arrived on the island, we were amazed by how well everything was set up. The community centre was turned into a hall with merchandise stalls, home bakes, and tea and coffee, while outside the air was filled with smoke from the barbecue grill keeping everyone fed. There was a bar, more food stalls, and children’s activities going on. I was seriously impressed!
From there, it’s barely more than a five minute walk to the viewing place – and it was packed! We found a good spot to stand, because everywhere to sit was taken.
I didn’t mind standing, because I’ll tell you now… I expected to be bored after an hour. Oh no. That turned into an entertaining several hours with loads of banter, cheering and wholesome fun!
Local GP turned commentator (or “Tossmaster”) Dr Kyle Matthews was absolutely hilarious, sarcastic and enthusiastic the whole way through. “She may be from “South of Canada”, but she’s certainly finishing south of the winning line!” Or the little boy who simply threw his stones straight into the water. “Ah, a nice and relaxed approach from Ralph there!”
And my favourite: the fish hat guys. They had names like Skim Kardashian and the Real Skim Shady. After some let-down shots, Kyle remarked that “every year these guys grow in confidence but not ability”, and when the last one messed up his final shot, he goes “will the Real Skim Shady please sit down”. Can confirm: would listen to Kyle and his sarcastic Irish accent all day. (He would always introduce any Irish competitors as being “from the best country in the world”!)
These are the golden (or slate) rules for competing:
- The stone must be from the island and unadulterated*
- It must be no larger than 3 inches
- It must hit the water at least three times and stay within the lanes to count
Every competitor gets three goes to try and get their best score. The unbeatable score is hitting the back wall of the quarry, which is 63 metres. If several people achieve this, it’ll go to a “toss off”.
*There was a scandal last year when it turned out somebody had altered their stone to try to shape it better. Imagine cheating at a stone skimming competition!
You wouldn’t believe how invested everyone got! A guy next to us was making sarcastic commentary to match Kyle. Every time a previous winner stepped up, everyone would “ohhhhhhhhhhhhh” “aaaaawwwww” or cheer. One guy (one of the fish hats) got everyone doing the Wimbledon slow-clap (before completely ballsing up his shot). Honestly, just brilliant fun!
Eventually, though, we decided to tear ourselves away from the excitement, first for a late lunch and then for a walk around the island, to see just how small it is. I think the loop of the island took us around half an hour, bringing us back to where the boat comes in.
Historically, this island was a slate quarry. In the 1700’s, there were as many as 500 people living on the island and producing 2.5 million slates per year in the island’s seven quarries. There’s evidence that the slate was used in major construction as far back as the 12th century, and it all came to a tumultuous end in 1850 when a huge storm flooded the quarries.
Now, the island has a population of just 60 – though in the 1960’s, it had gone down to five, so it’s safe to say that the island has seen somewhat of a resurgence. There’s been talk of building a bridge to the Isle of Seil, but the residents’ views are clear: they live there because it’s an island.
The island is about half an hour south of Oban, and while there are a handful of buses per day, they do actually put on transport from Oban for the Stone Skimming Championships which could save you the hassle of parking.
The event is more than just the championships too. There’s a pre-skim party the night before, and another post-skim party the night of. We weren’t staying close enough to be able to attend, but these nights have become pretty legendary. If you want an authentic Scottish party experience, this will be it. We’ll definitely go one year!
As we headed back across the Isle of Seil (connected to the mainland by a bridge), we couldn’t believe how many cars were parked all along the roadside for miles. Like I say – get there EARLY!
This is the “Bridge over the Atlantic”, the only thing connecting the Isle of Seil. So if you’re looking for an “easy” island to tick off, this is a good one!
I’ll end with a fun anecdote from our trip.
The island of Easdale is probably around 3.5 hours from our house. Half way home, the following day, we stopped at a café for lunch. A few minutes later, a group walked in, took one look at Bonnie, and went “OH MY GOD! It’s the cute dog from the Stone Skimming Championships!!”
So anyway, Bonnie is now famous. And yes YOU ARE A CUTE DOG.
Spot the dog.
This was a REALLY fun day out. I fully expected it to be a one-off novelty thing that we’d go along to, and we left saying “same time next year?”
A shout out needs to go to the volunteers who keep everything organised, from the parking to the boats to the event itself. I was so impressed that I made sure to go and thank the guys at the car park before we left.
If you’re looking for something a little different to do in Scotland, then I’d recommend the World Stone Skimming Championships as a genuinely fun, quirky and wholesome time.
Read more about Scotland:
⭐ Why The Isle Of Mull Is Still My Favourite Scottish Island
⭐ An Anniversary Trip – Staying In A Castle In Argyll & Bute
⭐ A Car-Free Adventure On The Isle Of Bute, Scotland
⭐ Photo Friday: 20 Photos Of Glorious Glencoe
⭐ Glasgow: Scotland’s “Second City” That Shouldn’t Be Missed
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